Rhizomatically learning to play a piece of music #change11

I am training for hand movements, speed and velocity and the use of alternative keys on a bass clarinet. I do use a video camera to see the movements of the hand and to get feedback.
I do not discover a rhizomatical way of learning in this kind of training.
I expect the velocity I train in this little piece of music will improve the overall velocity, because the working of the muscles will improve.
Are there goals that you want to accomplish that would not be served by a rhizomatic approach? I want to improve the fine muscles and fine movements of the hand. I want to improve the way I play and I want to learn to play this piece of music.
Is there a way to change what you are doing to make it more rhizomatic? Would it be rhizomatic to introduce other ways of training the fine muscles of the hand? Learning card tricks to improve fine muscles to play the clarinet?
Listening to other clarinetists and reading the notes on the paper, rehearsing the piece will all help improve the way I play the instrument. Is this rhizomatic?
What impact would that have? Good? Bad?
How does the ‘rhizomatic’ improve my learning to play music?

7 thoughts on “Rhizomatically learning to play a piece of music #change11”

I’m also learning how to play an instrument… i’ll try and break this down.

My guitar teacher doesn’t believe in teaching scales, by name, by repetition. He claims that there are connections between the notes, but the scales themselves are just a shorthand… and not actually music. Practice the notes yes… learn where the notes are… but that’s not music. As Wynton Marsalis says… as long as you are playing the notes you are not playing music.

When i do repetitive practice on my guitar what am i learning? Right now I’m playing the song “lakes of ponchartrain” over and over again. Partially i’m trying to perfect my hand placement and transitions between chords. I’m also trying to figure out how to get the strum pattern to sound better.

If the ‘goal’ of the exercise is to replicate the formal strum pattern or the goal of the exercise is to simply repeat the chord changes i wouldn’t consider that rhizomatic. While i’m exploring this song, however, I’m practicing those things… and also trying to understand music… which is the actual goal of the learning.

I just watched part of the discussion video, where there is a great comment down below: “When speaking of﻿ the rhizome, Jeff says, “I think the metaphor is helpful.” To me, this is the key to rhizomatic learning: use what is helpful just here and now, knowing full well that what is helpful now will likely not be so helpful later or in another space. So let it go and find something else.”
– pindham

What I get out of this is that Rhizomatic Learning is a philosphical approach that lets individuals make their own learning connections and it’s ok if they’re not always the same from student to student.

To apply it to learning an instrument, it’s not giving you micro instructions to change how you learn to put your fingers to the keys. It’s telling you that if you’re not making progress towards your goal by sitting and repeating the same piece over and over, try something else. More importantly, if that works for you, do not assume that all your students will learn the same thing from that experience.

One thing David pointed out in the video is that yes, you teach people common language, (like how to read music, what the vocalbulary of the music is) so they have context, like a garden, in which to play. What you learn, when you absorb it, and how it helps you to take your music to the next level is an organic process that is connected to lots of other experiences that do not necessarily have to do with your official clarinet classes.

I hope this helps. I am by no means an expert here. I just learned all this today. But when I was learning to play violin, I took private lessons from a professional musician who wasn’t a good teacher. Switching to a new, less accomplished but MUCH bettter teacher, was the best thing for me. That experience that would be really hard to replicate if I decided to teach my kids the same way. Rhizomatic Learning would say that I shouldn’t try to replicate that, and instead let them grown their own garden.

I hope this helps. I am by no means an expert here. I just learned all this today. But when I was learning to play violin, I took private lessons from a professional musician who wasn’t a good teacher. Switching to a new, less accomplished but MUCH bettter teacher, was the best thing for me. That experience that would be really hard to replicate if I decided to teach my kids the same way. Rhizomatic Learning would say that I shouldn’t try to replicate that, and instead let them grown their own garden.
+1

Jenny thanks, for your clear view you shared with us. I like the image of growing your own garden.
Rhizomatic learning approach is a view that corrects the school-view on education with a diploma,fixed curriculum, and a fixed set of goals. students always find their own way, and learn other things than the teachers ask. Cornier explains this as rhizomatic learning.
In http://davecormier.com/edblog/2011/11/05/rhizomatic-learning-why-learn/ Dave Cornier asks for an activity about rhizomatic learning. I tried to find a way of learning that does not fit in the rhizomatic approach. As you write, I did not succeed.